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Afghanistan
Background Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order. Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian Empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919. A brief experiment in democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 Communist counter-coup. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan Communist regime, touching off a long and destructive war. The USSR withdrew in 1989 under relentless pressure by internationally supported anti-Communist mujahedin rebels. A series of subsequent civil wars saw Kabul finally fall in 1996 to the Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement that emerged in 1994 to end the country's civil war and anarchy. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., a US, Allied, and anti-Taliban Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Osama BIN LADIN. The UN-sponsored Bonn Conference in 2001 established a process for political reconstruction that included the adoption of a new constitution, a presidential election in 2004, and National Assembly elections in 2005. In December 2004, Hamid KARZAI became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan and the National Assembly was inaugurated the following December. KARZAI was re-elected in August 2009 for a second term. Despite gains toward building a stable central government, a resurgent Taliban and continuing provincial instability - particularly in the south and the east - remain serious challenges for the Afghan Government. In January 2011, Afghanistan assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2012-13 term. Geography Location Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran Geographic coordinates 33 00 N, 65 00 E Map references Asia Area total: 652,230 sq km country comparison to the world: 41 land: 652,230 sq km water: 0 sq km Area - comparative slightly smaller than Texas Land boundaries total: 5,529 km border countries: China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km, Tajikistan 1,206 km, Turkmenistan 744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km Coastline 0 km (landlocked) Maritime claims none (landlocked) Climate arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers Terrain mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest Elevation extremes lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m highest point: Noshak 7,485 m Natural resources natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones Land use arable land: 12.13% permanent crops: 0.21% other: 87.66% (2005) Irrigated land 31,990 sq km (2003) Total renewable water resources 65 cu km (1997) Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) total: 23.26 cu km/yr (2%/0%/98%) per capita: 779 cu m/yr (2000) Natural hazards damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts Environment - current issues limited natural freshwater resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification; air and water pollution Environment - international agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation Geography - note landlocked; the Hindu Kush mountains that run northeast to southwest divide the northern provinces from the rest of the country; the highest peaks are in the northern Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor) Nationality *noun: Afghan(s) *adjective: Afghan Languages Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 50%, Pashto (official) 35%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism Religions Sunni Muslim 80%, Shia Muslim 19%, other 1% Population 30,419,928 (July 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 40 note: this is a significantly revised figure; the previous estimate of 33,609,937 was extrapolated from the last Afghan census held in 1979, which was never completed because of the Soviet invasion Age structure 0-14 years: 42.3% (male 6,464,070/female 6,149,468) 15-64 years: 55.3% (male 8,460,486/female 8,031,968) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 349,349/female 380,051) (2011 est) Category:World Category:Aisa Category:Countries